What do you all think of all the armageddon, end of the world (as we know it) crap out there? On the one hand, we have this "biblical scholar", Harold Camping, who claims that he knows for certain that the Rapture is coming on May 21, 2011. This after years and years of study and finding proof positive in the Bible. Thing is...flash back to the early 80's...same guy was sure it was coming in 1984. When itdidn't he claimed he miscalculated.

Then of course, there is the Mayan Calendar which says the definitive end of times date is December 12, 2012. There is also something inthe Chinese I Ching that "ends" on the same time as the Mayans.

Is it all bullcrap? According to Mayan scholars, who have studied the calendar, they claim there is NO indication that there will be any catastropic events in 2012. They feel people with not enough knowledge are spreading false information.

I was watching a thing with one couple who were all about preparing for 2012...and the end of the world as we know it. But you want to know what these MENSA rejects were doing? They were buying all kinds of furniture and stuff on long term credit...no credit no interest until 2012. They figured WTF..the world is ending,they won't have to pay for the stuff.

Marie5656 wrote:What do you all think of all the armageddon, end of the world (as we know it) crap out there? On the one hand, we have this "biblical scholar", Harold Camping, who claims that he knows for certain that the Rapture is coming on May 21, 2011. This after years and years of study and finding proof positive in the Bible. Thing is...flash back to the early 80's...same guy was sure it was coming in 1984. When itdidn't he claimed he miscalculated.

Then of course, there is the Mayan Calendar which says the definitive end of times date is December 12, 2012. There is also something inthe Chinese I Ching that "ends" on the same time as the Mayans.

Is it all bullcrap? According to Mayan scholars, who have studied the calendar, they claim there is NO indication that there will be any catastropic events in 2012. They feel people with not enough knowledge are spreading false information.

I was watching a thing with one couple who were all about preparing for 2012...and the end of the world as we know it. But you want to know what these MENSA rejects were doing? They were buying all kinds of furniture and stuff on long term credit...no credit no interest until 2012. They figured WTF..the world is ending,they won't have to pay for the stuff.

All of it is complete and utter bullshit, Marie.

Let's assume that the Mayans did predict that the world was going to end on Dec 12, 2012. (They actually didn't, but for the sake of argument, let's say they did.) When the Spanish came calling, the Mayans didn't even have the wheel (except for use on children's toys). They made very accurate (for the time) astronomical observations, but they mixed their astronomy with astrology.

In short, there's no reason to believe that the Mayans had any more insight into the future than we do.

"I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slowerMakes you talk a little lowerAbout the things you could not show her."

It interests me the number of things that are considered proven because it is in the Bible. Now we have to remember that the Bible is mainly, heresay, recollection, and projecture, or prophecy. John wrote Revelations as prophecy...and much of it probaby does not reflect OUR present day "future" as it does the immediate future in his time. Speculation is that he was writing of things to come within the next few hundred years or so of HIS own time. Again, no real indication that he meant it as revelations of things to come thousand of years in his future.Brian, what I read from the Myan scholars is basically what you said. There is so mucn open to interpretation.

Marie5656 wrote:It interests me the number of things that are considered proven because it is in the Bible. Now we have to remember that the Bible is mainly, heresay, recollection, and projecture, or prophecy. John wrote Revelations as prophecy...and much of it probaby does not reflect OUR present day "future" as it does the immediate future in his time. Speculation is that he was writing of things to come within the next few hundred years or so of HIS own time. Again, no real indication that he meant it as revelations of things to come thousand of years in his future.Brian, what I read from the Myan scholars is basically what you said. There is so mucn open to interpretation.

A big problem, IMHO, with the way people read the Bible is that they take things out of context and call them prophesy, when they're actually meant to be taken either allegorically or as commentary on current events. A perfect example of this is the Beast in Revelations. Most modern (non-Biblical) scholarship I've read asserts that the Beast in Revelation is Nero (The number 666 translates into Nero Caesar, the way the Jews used numbers.) If you read Revelation this way, it makes perfect sense as John condemning the Roman empire. There are several other "prophesies" that work the same way. The predicted destruction of Tyre by Nebudchadnezzar, for example, never happened. Tyre was never wiped completely clean. You can see its ruins today. (Remember: If a prophesy isn't 100% true, it's false.)

I do think the Bible's an important work of literature (and probably the most important) but it's not predictive. Time is a one-way arrow. That's why you can't remember what will happen tomorrow.

"I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slowerMakes you talk a little lowerAbout the things you could not show her."

To assume that this time the Armageddon-pundits have called the dates right, while the hundreds of previous calls turned out to have got it wrong, really needs a good explanation of why this bunch are doing something different. I don't see the difference and the pundits all ignore the question. Those in the past who called it and turned out wrong had rather better credentials than the current cranks too. Many people have put their necks on the line and given a future date and then watched it drift by no different to any other day in history. Without a good new convincing argument it all seems a pointless repetition of failure.

My favorite was always Garner Ted Armstrong. It's a tragedy that people like him can be forgotten, they should be spoken of loudly for generations to come as teaching aids.

Here is the thing...I take all I read with a huge grain of salt. So much of it can be explained away..but I find all the shows abot it all oddly fascinating and watch many of them. History Channel and Smithsonian do a lot of stuff.

spot wrote:To assume that this time the Armageddon-pundits have called the dates right, while the hundreds of previous calls turned out to have got it wrong, really needs a good explanation of why this bunch are doing something different. I don't see the difference and the pundits all ignore the question. Those in the past who called it and turned out wrong had rather better credentials than the current cranks too. Many people have put their necks on the line and given a future date and then watched it drift by no different to any other day in history. Without a good new convincing argument it all seems a pointless repetition of failure.

My favorite was always Garner Ted Armstrong. It's a tragedy that people like him can be forgotten, they should be spoken of loudly for generations to come as teaching aids.